Bay Of Pigs
| Kennedy set out to finish Eisenhower's plan to overthrow Fidel Castro. The CIA was involved to help make this possible. Insurgents from the U.S. were to invade Cuba and instigate an uprising among the Cuban people with the plan of removing Castro from power. JFK ordered the invasion to take place without any aircrafts. By April 19, 1961, the Cuban government had captured or killed the invading exiles, and Kennedy was forced to negotiate for the release of the 1,189 survivors. The failure of the plan originated in a lack of dialog among the military leadership, a result of which was the complete lack of naval support in the face of organized artillery troops on the island who easily incapacitated the exile force as it landed on the beach. After twenty months, Cuba released the captured exiles in exchange for $53 million worth of food and medicine. This incident made Castro nervous of the U.S. and he believed that another attack/invasion would occur. |
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